Ever since you were born, you’ve probably celebrated the anniversary of that day once each year. Would you believe that some people actually celebrate TWICE each year? Not only do they celebrate the anniversary of the day they were born, they also celebrate six months later on their half birthday!

First let’s take a look at how half birthdays are calculated. The first --- and earliest --- is simply to keep the same number of the birth date and add six months to it. For example, if your birthday is January 13, then your half birthday would be on July 13.

Of course, this easy method doesn’t always work, because not all months have the same number of days. For example, an August 30 birthday would become February 30 --- a day that doesn’t exist!

If you want to be really precise, you need to add half the number of days in a year to your birth date. For example, in a normal year, this means adding 182.5 days. In a leap year, you would add 183 days. If this sounds too complicated, don’t worry. There are plenty of websites that will do the work for you!

For starters, consider kids. As they grow, six months can mean huge milestones. It can be a special time to celebrate with them as they grow up, because they grow up all too fast!

Half birthday celebrations can also be great for those people whose regular birthday might be overshadowed by a nearby holiday, such as Christmas. Likewise, kids whose birthdays fall in the summer might enjoy celebrating their half birthday, so that they can share their joy with their friends at school.

Half birthdays aren’t the only special “birthdays” that some people celebrate, though. Adopted children sometimes celebrate both their actual birthday (the day they were actually born) and the day they were adopted. Do you have any other special “birthdays” that you and your family celebrate?

1.The author’s purpose of writing this passage is mainly to tell us ________.

A. what birthday means

B. what half birthday is

C. the kinds of birthdays

D. the history of birthday

2.The author shows us how to calculate half birthdays by ________.

A. offering some practical examples

B. making a list of different numbers

C. comparing a normal year and a leap one

D. telling the difference between birthdays and half birthdays

3.Who are most likely to celebrate half birthdays?

A. People who are not young any longer.

B. People whose half birthday falls in summer.

C. People whose birthday falls near a holiday.

D. People who don’t like their birthdays at all.

4.This passage is taken from a website; which section does it belong to?

A. Science. B. Politics.

C. Hobby. D. Culture.

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Chinese writer Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize for Literature might ignite an explosion of global interest in Chinese literature and lead to more titles translated into English, European experts say.

“Hopefully, the award means more people will read Chinese literature and more works will get translated,” says Michel Hockx, professor of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia from University of London. “Many very good Chinese writers have been accepted globally for a long time already. Mo Yan is probably the most translated Chinese writer alive, with at least five of his novels made available in English over the past 20 years.”

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A Kickstarter launched Friday will allow interested parties to set up a camera and pet toys in their home for anyone to play with their pets remotely. It’s called the ipet Companion, an Internet-connected camera and device that streams video online and allows basic commands from people watching. They can move the camera, look at their pet and press a button to swing a toy around.

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1.What does the underlined word “remotely” in Paragragh 1 probably mean?

A. far away.

B. For free.

C. With pity.

D. Out of control.

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B. it is easy to control online

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C. iPet Companion can actually be turned into a toy horse.

D. iPet Companion can look after pets while their owners are away.

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